Navajo Nation President deploys police to stop unlawful uranium transport on tribal lands

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The President of the Navajo Nation announced earlier today that he was sending police to stop the transport of uranium across tribal lands. In his statement, President Buu Nygren said that the shipment was being done illegally. He also stated the lack of notice from the mining company posed a danger to his people.

"The lack of notification to the Navajo Nation is a blatant disregard for our tribal sovereignty and exposes our Diné people to toxic uranium,” Nygren said. “A substance that has devastated our community for decades.”

During the development of the first nuclear bomb and the subsequent nuclear arms race, Navajo lands were home to a large number of uranium mines. Sites across the Colorado Plateau, many of them on the Navajo reservation, were used to extract millions of tons of high-grade uranium ore.

Energy Fuels Inc., the largest uranium provider in the United States, agreed to give the tribe notice before hauling uranium across exempted highways. According to Nygren, the tribe only found out about the shipment after trucks had departed.

[Nygren dispatched tribal police to turn away the shipment. But, according to the Associated Press, the trucks left tribal lands before police could intercept them.

"As president, I do not approve of this transport and will continue to fight to ensure our people are protected from the actions of Energy Fuels,” Nygren said.

While Tuesday’s shipment quickly left tribal lands, no guarantee exists that Energy Fuels will honor their agreement in the future. President Nygren has vowed to use roadblocks to prevent further shipments of uranium while the tribe develops regulations.